Wire forming machine



F 5, 1963 H. H. BRUDERLIN WIRE FORMING MACHINE Filed Marci; 28/1960 3Sheets-$heet 1 I NV E NTOR. dwmszz/A Feb. 5, 1963 H. H. BRUDERLIN3,076,491

WIRE FORMING MACHINE Filed March 28, 1960 3 heets-Sheet 2 625 F 63 E l i6/ E E z 59 INVENTOR.

Feb. 5, 1963 H. H. BRUDERLIN 3,

WIRE FORMING MACHINE Filed March 28. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.fle/ve/ 521/052; w

United States Patent 3,076,491 WIRE FORMING MACHINE Henry H. Bruderlin,Los Angeies, Calif. (111 Via Undine-Lido Isle, Newport, Calif.) FiledMar. 28, 1960, Ser. No. 17,850 4 Claims. (El. 153-2) This inventionrelates to improvements in wire bending machines and particularly to animproved machine operable in cycles for continuously making apre-selected series of bends in a length of wire.

Many wire bending and forming machines have been designed and marketedand many patents have issued covering various features of such machines.Among these designs are machines which relate generally to windingmechanisms and more particularly to such specialized applications as anautomatic coil winding machine for automatically winding coils of anynumber of steps and of any number of windings per step within thepredetermined capacity of the machine.

Machines have also been developed which are adapted to'bend preformedcorrugated or zigzag wire. The latter machines were needed, forcorrugated or zigzag wire has been used extensively as spring supportsfor seats and backs of seats and particularly in the seat constructionsof motor vehicles. Machines have also been designed to make suchspecialty items'as partly open rings which preferably have pointed ends,such rings being commonly known as hog rings. Other machines have beendeveloped to provide a wire forming and bending device which fabricateswire garment hangers having swivel hooks.

These machines, in general, are well designed to the extent that theywill perform their intended task satisfactorily. However, many of themare extremely compli cated in operation and require considerablemaintenance work. Such complexity of design, in addition to the serviceexpenses just mentioned, usually results in the machine having arelatively high initial cost.

There are many commercial items being utilized today in connection withvarious applications which items have as some basic part or structuralelement a piece of wire bent into some relatively simple shape. Anexcellent example of such a part or element is shown in United StatesPatents No. 2,472,280 and No. 2,472,281. Depicted there is a frame ofgenerally C-shape in plan view which can be formed of wire and definesin general a figure eight in vertical projection. Such fairly simplifiedwire designs are not uncommon in other fields, the above patents beingcited merely for purposes of illustration.

To form such simplified designs requires the use of a machine which hasa relatively low original cost, is simple to operate, and which has aminimum number of moving parts, thus assuring relatively trouble freeoperation. The machines first discussed above, although perhapsadaptable to bending fairly simplified patterns, are much too detailedin design and complicated in operation.

The present invention was designed to provide an improved machine forrapidly bending wire into the desired formations and which is fullyautomatic in cycles for making the preselected configuration. Inaddition to these characteristics, the present design comprises partswhich may be fabricated and assembled at low cost and which are arrangedin a distinctly novel relation to one another. The present invention isarranged in a novel manner for the convenience of the operator and iscapable of quickly engaging the wire and accurately and rapidlyproducing the desired bent formation.

Other features and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

While the invention may take numerous forms, those ice which arepresently preferred are illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a machine embodying the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the forming unit of the machine shown inFIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the forming unit shown inFIGURES 1, 2, and 3 and depicts the operation and arrangement of thebend and twist cams respectively;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the means used to cut the wire to alength sufficient to form one part and depicts the operation andarrangement of the shear cam;

FIGURE 6 is a partial perspective view taken from forward and left ofthe machine as shown in FIGURE 3 and shows the gear arrangement andassociated parts used to drive the feed rollers and bend, twist andshear cams;

FIGURE 7 is a three-quarter rear view in perspective of typical partwhich the machine of the present invention is well adapted to make; and

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the part shown in FIGURE 7.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURE 1, theembodiment of the invention there illustrated comprises a wire feed unit12 and a wire forming unit 13, both units being carried in alignedspaced apart relationship by a common mounting base 14. Al- I though anysuitable material may be selected, it is presently preferred to use woodfor constructing the base piece 14, the thickness being determined bythe weight of the machine. Base pieces of approximately 1 /2 inches inthickness have proven satisfactory for most applications.

The feed unit 12 is constructed as a generally U-shaped frame 15 withspaced apart parallel upwardly extending arms 17, only one of which isshown in FIGURE 1, with the bight of the frame attached to base piece14. Although the parallel members 17 are indicated to be fastened to aspacer block, not shown, by means of fasteners 18 the mounting frame 15may be constructed as a single integral piece in any of the wellrecognized methods, or the fasteners 18 may be replaced by welding,brazing or otherwise connecting the parallel members 17 to the spacerblock. It is presently preferred to construct the frame member 17 ofaluminum or steel, although any of the common structural materials areperfectly suitable.

Suitably and rotatably mounted within the upper portion of frame member15 are two feed rollers 19 and 20 respectively. To straighten orrectilinearize the wire as it unrolls from a supply coil and feeds intothe machine, rollers 24, 25 and 27 are suitably mounted and positionedrelative to one another in frame member 15 as shown in FIGURE 1. Byadjusting the position of rollers 25 and 27 relative to roller 24, themachine is adapted to remove varying amounts of precurl from the wirewhich is to be bent into a pro-selected shape. The two upper rollers 19and 24 are properly journaled in the cap of the frame member 15, saidcap being formed in two sections 22, 23, and held in spaced apartrelationship from the main portion of the frame member by means of leafsprings 29 and suitable fasteners 30. By tightening or loosening certainof the fasteners 30 the rear portion 23 of the cap of frame member 15 ismoved in or out, thus providing pre-curl adjustment and also permittingadjustment of the gap between upper roller 24 and lower rollers 25 and27 to thereby permit the machine to be adapted to bending a large numberof wire sizes. It should also be understood that by tightening orloosening other appropriate fasteners 30' the front portion 22' of thecap can be moved in or out to insure that the feed rollers maintain firmfrictional contact with the wire, thus assuring a positive wireadvancement for various size wires.

Referring again to the drawing and more particularly FIGURES l, 2 and 3thereof, the forming unit 13. is-

composed of the same identical U-shape frame construction of aluminum,steel or thelike as the feed'unitdistance between the main portion ofthe frame carryingro-ller-44 and the cap 38: carrying. roller. 45.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2, 3' and 6- of; the drawing,shaft 47 extends through the two.vertical: members. 32 and 33 of theU-shaped frame and: is suitablymounted so asto' be capable of-continuousrotation.

Keyed: to one end of shaft 47' are bend cam 48, twist cam 49, and shearcam 50; said cams being attached: and; held. in s 'racedrelation tosoneanotherfby means of suitable spacers and fasteners. Although many.suitable materials can be used to manufacture satisfactory cams,itispresently preferred to utilize, brass in their construction,

Main drive shaft 54 is connected throughuniversal iointS-Sto prime mover56. Theoppositeendi of shaft: 54. extends through the-twovertical;members 32 and 33v of. the U-shaped frame and is suitably mountedtherein. for. continuous rotation, Drive roller 44 is splined orkeyed.to said shaft and is positioned thereon between thetwo framemembers 32and 33- and is thus suitably mounted for continuous rotation. Splined orkeyed to shaft. 60.. and. positioned wholly between frame members32Iand'33 is the second drive roller 45. As shown more clearly inFIGURES 3. and 6 a fourth shaft-61 is affixed to frame; member 32 andhas splined, keyed, or other:

wise fastenedthereon a gear train consisting of; gears- 62;. and 63'. Anadjustable baseplate 65 v permits-shaft 61 to'be moved, thus permitting.the machine to accommodate'ditferent gear sets. As. shown in:FIGUR ES 2,3, and 6. gear 62v is meshed. with gear 57 while gear 63,

also, carriediby shaft 61, is. shown. meshed'with gear 66 which issplined, keyed-or otherwise suitably attached as by means of, collar 69and set screw. 74 to. shaft 47.;

To drive the feed rollers. 19and. 29, on the wire feed.

hereinafter described in detail. To assure stability ofthe bell crank71, the axle 76 extends beyond arm 84 andthrqugh the, members 32 and 33of the U-shaped frame and is rotatably mounted therein.

Pork 77 formed with one end defining a wire receiving throat or slot 78and the other end an elongated cylindrical extension 80, is rotatablymounted within an apertured rectangular block 81 which is positionedbetween the frame members 32 and 33 and rigidly held therein by suitablefastening means. One end 83 of the fork 77 is rigidly attached to thecenter portion of link 85v which in turn is pivotally connected to oneend of a second link 86. Link 86 is pivotally connected at itsoppositeend 87 to link 75 which as above described is rigidly attached to thearm 84 of bell crank 71. A biasing spring 88 is connected at one end'tothe frame of the machine and is connected at its opposite end to the pin91 which pivotally connects links and 86. As shown more clearly inFIGURE 4, the action of the biasing spring 88 holds the cam follower 72in firm rolling contact with twist cam 49;

A yoke or support member 92. for bend roller 93 is formed with twoapertured cars 95, through which is rotatably mounted shaft 96 carryingsaid bend roller. The opposite end of yoke 92 is pivotally connected toand positioned between the frame members 32 and 33by rneansof pin 112.Shaft 114'. attached to yoke 92 carries cam follower 115' riding on bendcam 48;

Referring now particularly toFIGURES 1 and 5; a cutting block 118 ispositioned between the feed unit 12 and forming unit 13, andv is alsoattached to the common mounting base 14. Bell crank 119'is pivotallyattached to cutting block: 118: and is spring biased in, a

counter clockwise direction'of' rotation by=meansof springend a camfollower 146 riding against the face of shear cam 50. The horizontal armof'bellcrank 1119 is connected to actuating'rod112S which in turn ispivotally attached to a. blade carrying member 128' pivotallyconnectedto forming unit 13 by means of bracket l29 andpin 142. Member 128,carries. at one end a pivotally mounted blade 143 spring biasedupwardly, against shoulder 144. by means of spring 145.

As previously mentioned, the" machine of the present invention isadapted to continuously. make a preselected, series of'bends in a lengthof wire to thus form a structural element of the type whichisextensivelyused today in manyvaried commercial applications. Such a part or elementis illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8 of the drawings, being designated bythe numeral 130 there-. in. It willbe; noted that the illustrated part,generally indicated by the numeral 130, comprises an upper por tion 132:and' a lower portion 1-33.v The latter lies substantially in'ahorizontal plane andis generally C-shaped in plan as is apparent inFIGURE 7-. The upper portion lies more or less vertically above the.lower'portionand is similarlyQ-shaped in plan. However, in elevation itis seen that this portion is provided with a relatively high arch.

The adjacent ends of the, arched halves. are provided: withinterengaging bridge members. 137; 138; each provided with a loop or eye139 for rotatable and slidable engagement with the cooperating straightmember. The lower halves are provided with a similar connection. Theouter free ends of the. upper and lower portions converge toward eachother and are curved to form a C-shape. The partjust illustrated anddescribed is a self supporting frame. for use, in certain, types ofbrassieres. The construction and use of this and similar parts'arediscussed in detail in United Statesv Letters Patents No. 2,472,280 andNo. 2,472,281 issued toHenry H; Bruderlin.

The part is mentioned here for it is of the type which the presentmachine is well adapted to form; for the entire frame may be made ofwire. The right and left halves of the frame are each formed from asingle length of wire.

The present machine isv operable continually in cycles, one part orportion of a part being made during each cycle. Throughout the detaileddescription, various parts have been or will be described as beingvertical or horizontal and as being movable upwardly or downwardly orhorizontally. It will be understood that these,v and similar terms areused chiefly for convenience of description to show the relationship ofparts and motions, and that they are not intended to necessarily limitthe scope of the invention.

To operate the machine, a coil of wire such as that shown in FIGURE 4 issuitably mounted at the rear of the wire feed unit 12. The end of thewire is then slipped between the straightening rollers 24, 25, 27 andfeed rollers 19, 2t), and the fasteners 30 tightened against the biasingaction of leaf springs 29 to obtain the necessary roller pressure toinsure the necessary straightening action and positive advance of thewire through the machine.

When the wire has been pulled over the cutting block 118, the end of thewire is passed through guide funnel 140 and inserted between the cap 38and main frame portion of the forming unit 13 and positioned betweenrollers 44, 45 and then over bend roller 93 and out through the wirereceiving groove 78 of fork 77. As with the feed unit, a suitableadjustment is made by means of the fasteners 39 to insure firm drivingpressure of rollers 44, 45 against the wire. With the wire in theposition just described, the bending operation is commenced by theoperator starting the prime mover 56.

The wire is advanced through the machine by the action of two separatesets of feed rollers. Rollers 44 and 45 are mounted in the forming unit13 as previously described, roller 44 being directly driven by primemover 56 rotating shaft 54 through the universal joint 55. Roller 45,carried by means of shaft 60 is rotated in the opposite direction tothat of roller 44 by means of gear 57 driving through gear 58 to therebyrotate shaft 60. The second set of feed rollers 19 and 20 is mounted inthe wire feed unit 12 and is rotated by prime mover 56 driving throughthe sprocket and chain assembly 67 and suitable gearings 68 and 99 shownin FIGURES 1, 3

and 6.

Shaft 47 carrying the three cams 48, 49, and 50 is also rotated by primemover 56 by means of a gear train consisting of gears 57, 62, 63 and 66.As shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 6, gear 57 meshes with gear 62 therebyrotating shaft 61, said shaft carrying gear 63 which in turn meshes withgear 66 which is affixed to the end of shaft 47. Thus when the operatorenergizes the prime mover the continuously rotating feed rollersconstantly carry the Wire to be formed through the machine and by virtueof the gear train just described the cams mount ed on shaft 47 are alsocontinuously rotated. To fabricate a part such as that shown in FIGURES7 and 8, the shape of each cam is designed so that one rotation willnormally finish one completed part. The cams shown are illustrative onlyand are not specifically designed to make the parts depicted in FIGURES7 and 8.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 4, as the bend cam 48 rotates, itscammed surface is in continuous engagement with the follower or roller115. As the radius of the cam increases and decreases, the cam followerarm 114 is moved upwardly and downwardly a corresponding amount andthereby causes the yoke 92 to pivot about a horizontal axis through thepin 112. As best depicted in FIGURES 1 and 4, the action of yoke 92pivoting about the pin 112 causes the bend roller 93 to move up or downrelative to the upper feed roller 45 and to the length of wire which isbeing advanced through the machine in the manner previously described.As the bend roller 93 moves upwardly in response to the increasingradius of the cam 48, the advancing wire is caused to bend in an upwardare as depicted in FIGURE 4. The wire will commence to bend when thevertical distance between bend roller 93 and upper feed roller 45becomes less than the diameter of the wire and the degree of curvatureis directly dependent upon the distance the bend roller is movedupwardly in response to the action of cam 48. If desired to form aso-called reverse bend, a second roller similar to roller 93 can be tionof the fork 77 about its upwardly extending axis.

As best depicted in FIGURE 4, the wire after passing over the bendroller 93 comes through the wire receiving slot or throat 78 provided infork 77. As the fork rotates in a clockwise direction, the action of thetwo prongs imparts into the advancing wire a curvature to the right asseen in either FIGURE 2 or 3 and similarly a counterclockwise rotationwill cause a corresponding curvature to the left. The degree ofcurvature will of course be regulated by the extent of rotation of thefork and this in turn is controlled by twist cam 49 in the manner to behereinafter described.

The action of retaining spring 88 holds the cam follower 72 firmlyagainst the cammed surface of twist cam 49. The reciprocating movementof the cam follower as it rides along the cammed surface causes the arm79 of bell crank 71 to pivot about the horizontal axis of axle 76,thereby rotating said shaft and in turn causing arm 84 to rotate aboutthe same axis in a direction opposite to that of arm 79. The pivotalmovement of arm 84 is translated into the rotary motion of fork 77 bymeans of the three bar linkage 75, 86, 85. For example, when the radiusof the twist cam decreases, the bell crank arm 79 is pivoted upwardlyand the opposite arm 84 moves downwardly carrying with it the link 75.As the pinned end of the link 75 is not free, it carries with it thesecond link 86, which in turn exerts a force on the pinned end of thethird link 85 which is rigidly attached to the elongated cylindricalextension of the fork 77. Such. force causes the link to pivot about thevertical axis of the. extension 80 which, as seen in FIGURE 4, causesrotation of fork 77 about its vertical axis in a clockwise direction. Anincreasing radius on the twist cam will correspondingly result in thecounterclockwise rotation of the fork 77.

Fork 77 with its associated mechanism illustrates one way in which thetwist can be provided in the wire. The wire can be twisted equally aswell by moving rollers 44 and 45 in opposite directions on their ownaxes laterally to the axis of feed of the wire; A simple crank and pinconnection to the ends of the axles of rollers 44 and 45 will cause themto move equally in opposite directions so as not to move the wirelaterally. The crank can be connected to link 75 or link 85 so as to beactuated by a twist cam in the same manner as described above for fork77. 7

When the length of wire required to make a given part has passed thecutting block 118, means are provided to shear the wire immediately sothat the part being made will be independent of the wire stock, andfurther means are provided to guide the succeeding portion of the wirestock in the proper path through the forming rollers.

As will be seen from FIGURE 5, when shear cam 50 is rotatedcounter-clockwise as indicated by the arrow it will urge link 124 to theright, rotating bell crank 119 and raising member 128. As member 128moves upwardly, blade 143 will pivot downwardly against the bias ofspring 145 and pass up on the near side of the wire, after which it willsnap back to its substantially horizontal position. When the tip of thecam passes follower 146, spring 120 will pull member 128 down rapidlyand blade 143 will snap down beside cutting block 118, shearing thewire. The cam size and the feed of the wire are proportioned so thateach sharing action will cut a length of wire sufiicient to be formedinto a single unit of the desired shape. The free end of the wire thenenters guide funnel before member 128 again begins to rise.

In operation the cams are designed to manufacture a given part such asthat depicted in FIGURES 7 and 8. When the wire has been properly fedinto the machine and the prime mover energized, the machine willautomatically continue to form duplicate parts without additionaloperator service requirements. As the wire initial- 1y advances throughthe machine it is driven by both sets of feed rollers. However, when apiece of sufiicient length to manufacture the required part has passedthe cutting block and the shearing action previously described has takenplace, the forward piece of the wire is advanced by the action ofrollers 44, 45 and the continuous piece remaining on the spool iscarried. forward by rollers 19, 20, so that he e nd c n omp l e te he ie funnel. The twist and bend cams, respectively, transmitn c t o r a t nh o a tu ing bend roller 93 vertically in the manner just previouslydescribed, cooperate to form a wire shape of the preselected desiredconfiguration. It should be understood that themachine is not limited tothe manufacturing of one particular shape for any number of differentshaped cams, can, be kept as spare parts and utilized by simpleinstallation on. the machine. Thus the machine is adapted to the.forming of selected configurations within a. wide range and when thecams are properly installed will, automatia l n nue to, m u r similar.tems nt l: h d sired number is completed.

It; should also be readily understood, from the; previous. descriptionthat if a given part is formed, utilizing certain, cam configurationsthat the mirrorimage of this part can, be readily. made by merelyremoving link 86 of the three. bar linkage and, fastening it in asimilar manner to the opposite. ends of the tworemaining links. 75 and85'. Spring 86 would of course be also removed to, a similar positionattached to the opposite end of link 85.

While. various preferred forms of the invention have been illustratedand described hereinabove-,' it; will be; ap-

pa ent at n h e a d med t may v n de 1y spaced, substantiallyhorizontally extending rollers driven by the; power source and; mountedto the upper near portionof the frame and; adapted to, receive theleading end of an advancing length; ofnonrrectilinear, wiretherebetween; means forso juxtaposing the rollers in the vertical; planeas to apply/varying degrees of rectilinearizin compression to theadvancing wire; means, drivenly-connected; to thePQWcr means, andlocated forwardly of said plurality of rollers for engaging andadvancing said. wire; a substantially, horizontally disposed, firstbending roller movably mounted, at the output end of the apparatus formovement in thevertical plane while in engagement withtheforwardend-portionof said advancing wire; a lobular first cam disposed: in the.vertical planesub-adjacent said first bending roller; meansdrivingly-connecting said cam to thepowering-means; a.cam.-followeroperatively. engaging. said cam and drivingly-connected to the mount ofsaidfirst bending roller so as toeffect vertical: movementthereofthereby tobendisaid wire in the vertical plane; asecondlobularcam mounted coaxially with the first cam; an elongate, rotatable,bifurcated member extending substantially vertically at a locusoutwardly of the verticalbend effecting roller and'normally engaging thebentportion of said Wire; a second cam follower operatively engagingsaid second cam; linkageinterposed between the second cam follower andthe lower end of the bifurcated member, said, linkage being constructedand arranged: with reference to the path of movement of the second camfollower and the path of movement of thebent portion of; the wire as toeffect rotation of the bifurcatedmernber about its major, or longeraxis, whereby to bend the. previously. vertically bent leading portionof said wire, the. 7

bending taking place in the lateral and horizontal planes so as torecurve the leading portion of wire upon itself; a third cam mountedcoaxially with the two aforesaid cams; a cam follower extendingrearwardly therefrom; verticallymovable shearing means mounted to theapparatus intermediate the two opposite ends thereof; and linkage meansconnecting the inner end of the cam.- follower to the shearing means tosever the so-bent portion of the wire from the trailing portion of thewire.

2. An automatic wire forming machine comprising: an elongate supporthavingmeansto feed a wire element to a forming zone; a substantiallyhorizontally disposed first bending roller movably mounted, adjacentsaid forming zone, for movement in the vertical plane while inengagement with the forward portion of said advancing wire element; afirst cam disposed in the vertical. plane subadjacent said first bendingroller, means operatively connecting said. first cam to said firstbending roller so as. to effect vertical movement thereof to bend saidwire in the vertical plane; an elongate, rotatable, bifurcated memberextending substantially vertically adjacent said forming zone and;normally engaging the bent portion of said advancing wire element; asecond cam mounted. coaxially with said first cam; a cam followeroperatively engaging said second cam; linkage interposed between saidcamv follower'and thelower end of'the bifurcatedmember, said.

linkage being constructed and arranged with. reference to the path ofmovement of the said cam follower and the path of movement of theadvancing wire element as to effect rotation-ofthe bifurcated memberabout its vertical axis, whereby to bend the previously vertically bentleading portion of said wire in alateral direction; a third cam mountedcoaxially with the two aforesaid cams; a cam follower extendingrearwardly therefrom; shearing means attached to said support rearwardlyof said forming'zone; and linkage means operatively connecting said camfollower to said shearing means to sever the advancing wire element.

3. An automatic wire forming machine comprising: an elongate supporthaving a forming zone at one end thereof; means to feed a wire elementfrom a supply source forwardly to. said forming zone and onwardlytherefrom into an open, unobstructed space; first bending means at saidforming zone to contact said element and bend it sequentially tovarious. predetermined angles in a first plane; second bending meansonwardly adjacent said first bending means at said forming zoneand-comprising a fork to slidingly receive said advancing element and adownwardly extending shank rotatably mounted on said support forrotation about the axis of said shank to displace said fork laterally toboth sides of said first plane to thereby bend said advancing elementsequentially to varying degrees. out of' said first plane and to bothsides thereof; and control means including link means and cam meanssynchronized with said element feeding means to control the relativemovements of said two bending means to produce compound curvatures ofany desired magnitude and direction in said element.

4. An-automatic wire forming machine comprising: an elongate supporthaving a forming zone at one end thereof; means to feed a wire elementfrom a supply source forwardly to said forming zone and onwardlytherefrom into an open, unobstructed space; first bending means at saidforming zone to contact said element and bend it sequentially to variouspredetermined angles in a first plane; second bending means onwardlyadjacent said first bending means at said forming'zone formed to receivesaid advancingv element and mounted forrotation about an axis in saidfirst plane but displaced from said first bending means to providelateral displacement of said second bending means to both sides of saidfirst plane to sequentially bend said advancing element laterally tovarying degrees out-of said first plane and to both sides thereof; andcontrol means synchronized with said clement feedbending means toproduce compound curvatures of any desired magnitude and direction insaid element.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS642,339 Krummel June 30, 1900 10 Robertson et a1. Oct. 11, 1921Poeppelmeir June 10, 1930 Sholtis et a1. Apr. 6, 1948 Halvorsen Dec. 7,1948 Galitz Jan. 24, 1961 Pearson Nov. 28, 1961

1. APPARATUS FOR BENDING A LENGTH OF WIRE COMPRISING: A BASE, A POWERINPUT, A SUPPORTING FRAME MOUNTED TO THE BASE AT A FIRST, OR INPUT, ENDTHEREOF; A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY SPACED, SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLYEXTENDING ROLLERS DRIVEN BY THE POWER SOURCE AND MOUNTED TO THE UPPER"NEAR" PORTION OF THE FRAME AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE LEADING END OF ANADVANCING LENGTH OF NON-RECTILINEAR WIRE THEREBETWEEN; MEANS FOR SOJUXTAPOSING THE ROLLERS IN THE VERTICAL PLANE AS TO APPLY VARYINGDEGREES OF RECTILINEARIZING COMPRESSION TO THE ADVANCING WIRE; MEANSDRIVENLY-CONNECTED TO THE POWER MEANS AND LOCATED FORWARDLY OF SAIDPLURALITY OF ROLLERS FOR ENGAGING AND ADVANCING SAID WIRE, ASUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED, FIRST BENDING ROLLER MOVABLEMOUNTED AT THE OUTPUT END OF THE APPARATUS FOR MOVEMENT IN THE VERTICALPLANE WHILE IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FORWARD END-PORTION OF SAID ADVANCINGWIRE; A LOBULAR FIRST CAM DISPOSED IN THE VERTICAL PLANE SUB-ADJACENTSAID FIRST BENDING ROLLER; MEANS DRIVINGLY-CONNECTING SAID CAM TO THEPREVENTING MEANS; A CAM-FOLLOWER OPERATIVELY ENGAGING SAID CAM ANDDRIVINGLY-CONNECTED TO THE MOUNT OF SAID FIRST BENDING ROLLER SO AS TOEFFECT VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREOF THEREBY TO BEND SAID WIRE IN THEVERTICAL PLANE; A SECOND LOBULAR CAM MOUNTED COAXIALLY WITH THE FIRSTCAM; AN ELONGATE, ROTATABLE, BIFURCATED MEMBER EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICALLY AT A LOCUS OUTWARDLY OF THE VERTICALBEND EFFECTING ROLLER ANDNORMALLY ENGAGING THE BENT PORTION OF SAID WIRE; A SECOND CAM FOLLOWEROPERATIVELY ENGAGING SAID SECOND CAM; LINKAGE INTERPOSED BETWEEN THESECOND CAM FOLLOWER AND THE LOWER END OF THE BIFURCATED MEMBER, SAIDLINKAGE BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED WITH REFERENCE TO THE PATH OFMOVEMENT OF THE SECOND CAM FOLLOWER AND THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE BENTPORTION OF THE WIRE AS TO EFFECT ROTATION OF THE BIFURCATED MEMBER ABOUTITS MAJOR, OR LONGER AXIS, WHEREBY TO BEND THE PREVIOUSLY VERTICALLYBENT LEADING PORTION OF SAID WIRE, THE BENDING TAKING PLACE IN THELATERAL AND HORIZONTAL PLANES SO AS TO RECURVE THE LEADING PORTION OFWIRE UPON ITSELF; A THIRD CAM MOUNTED COAXIALLY WITH THE TWO AFORESAIDCAMS; A CAM FOLLOWER EXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREFROM; VERTICALLY MOVABLESHEARING MEANS MOUNTED TO THE APPARATUS INTERMEDIATE THE TWO OPPOSITEENDS THEREOF; AND LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTING THE INNER END OF THECAMFOLLOWER TO THE SHEARING MEANS TO SEVER THE SO-BENT PORTION OF THEWIRE FROM THE TRAILING PORTION OF THE WIRE.